


Within your skin

by dreaminghigher (regencyaus)



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Canon, Crack-ish, Humor, M/M, arthur just wants his coffee, i mean it's a bodyswap fic but i took it seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 08:57:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17220863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regencyaus/pseuds/dreaminghigher
Summary: When they wake up somehow bodyswaped (??? What the fuck???? What the flying fuck???) Arthur is not exactly amused.Eames, unsurprisingly, is having the time of his life.





	Within your skin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [IAmANonnieMouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmANonnieMouse/gifts).



> Started for inception bingo for the prompt bodyswap, then forgotten in my drafts for 6 months and finished for secret saito. lol
> 
>  **For** : iamanonniemouse  
>  **Prompt** : ink  
> Option B.
> 
> To my giftee, when I read the prompt ink I immediately thought of [last-few-months-to-but-still-not-quite-18 year old Arthur trying to talk the hot tattoo artist from the nearby studio into tattooing him anyway.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17218691) I thought this was a funny dynamic so I wrote a fic for it but I know this is a big no go for some people and I wanted to have a plan B for you. So I went through my drafts and found this gem! It's a bodyswap fic I had forgotten for inception bingo this year and finished it with the mandatory ink reference. Whichever one you prefer can be your gift.

When they wake up somehow bodyswaped (??? What the fuck???? What the flying fuck???) Arthur is not exactly amused. Eames, unsurprisingly, is having the time of his life.

"Oh fuck." Eames says, completely mesmerized.

"Oh _fuck_." Arthur says, and means it.

Arthur looks down at his hands (Eames' hands. Their hands? What the Fuck.), tries to flex his fingers, stretch his arm but yep, he's still very much inside Eames' body.

Fuck.

That just sounds dirty.

Maybe Eames mind rubbed off on him as well.

Arthur reaches into his back pocket but all he finds is (obviously) a poker chip and he realizes he doesn't know how it is supposed to work. How does Eames ever know if he's dreaming? Arthur tries to remember him actually using it but Eames can be unnaturally secretive about some things.

"Uh, are you guys ok?" Ariadne asks, the sweet thing, unaware of the _complete disaster_ taking place right now. Arthur ignores her in favor of slipping his hand into Eames' back pocket (His back pocket. Jesus Christ.) and pulling out his dice. Eames predictably smirks, as if Arthur had decided to grope him, and gives him a wink that looks obscene in Arthur's face.

Arthur huffs and rolls his dice on the nearest table. Four. He rolls it another 12 times, just to be sure, but yep, still reality, as far as he can test it.

"This is kind of amazing, if you think about it."

At Arthur's disbelieving look Eames is quick to placate,

"And awkward, and extremely uncomfortable, I know. But still. Pretty amazing. Neurologists would have a field day with us."

"Uh. Guys." Ariadne tries again. Yusuf is coming back from the makeshift kitchen in the warehouse and looks curiously between them. He has two cups of coffee, one probably for Arthur since they are the two coffee addicts on this job, and Arthur has half a second to thank the heavens for this small mercy before he sees his beautiful coffee bypassing him entirely and being deposited in front of Eames.

Of course.

Eames doesn't even drink coffee. Arthur hates everyone.

"We're fine, Ariadne. It's nothing serious," Eames says, in his best Arthur voice. "The compound presented some unexpected side effects but we're already dealing with them. There's no need for concern."

"Are you kidding me."

Eames calmly takes a sip of his coffee and gives him a look that seems to say 'well, do _you_ want to be the one to explain this mess?'.

Arthur looks back with what he's sure is saying 'well, someone is fucking well going to, Eames, what the fuck. What the flying fuck. We switched bodies, it fucking very much _is serious_ , there's a lot of need for concern, I do not trust you walking around with my body while other people are _unaware of our circumstances_ , did you actually think that was going to work, what the fuck, not only is someone going to clear this up and but someone is going to clear this up _right now_.'

To which Eames makes a vague hand gestures towards the room at large and says, "Then by all means."

Well. Arthur can do that, just watch him.

"We switched bodies," he says, "Or minds, or sensorial awareness after waking up from the dream. I'm Arthur and that's Eames. We don't know how exactly this is affecting our cognitive functions or our responses times, but we should be monitored for side-effects and figure this out as soon as possible. And on the meantime, _don't trust anything he says_ ," Arthur adds, with a shrug. "Just to be sure."

Eames passes him the coffee, like a reward for his explanation, and smiles a small, secretive smile when Arthur downs half of it in one go, like he's afraid someone is going to snatch it away from him again.

He's so blissed out on caffeine and two seconds of peace that he doesn't notice the complete silence that follows his words, or the mirth in Eames eyes, up until it's too late.

"Eames, be serious for a moment," Eames says, a clear picture of Arthur's found exasperation. "If you wanted coffee that badly you could have just asked Yusuf to make you some too. I swear I don't get how you come up with these stories."

Yeah.

Eames is a dick.

At least Arthur got his coffee.

Still, he's not going to let it go this easy.

Eames should know just what he's messing with right now.

"I'm gonna shave you _bald_ ," Arthur threatens, feeling one third childish and two thirds pissed off.

"I'm wearing nothing but frilly lingerie all week," Eames throws back.

"I'm wearing _nothing at all_."

"Careful there darling, it might do more good to my reputation than harm. I'm drawing glasses and a mustache on your face with a sharpie."

"I'm getting some gay penguins tattooed. On your ass."

"...you're gonna be in the body for that. Like, you will be the one feeling the pain."

"Screw the pain, you're gonna be the one with something this stupid on your ass forever. Good luck with that."

Eames looks contemplative. "How will I know that they're gay?"

"They'll be holding hands. They'll have little bow ties and will be in front of a pride flag."

The mental image comes in stark detail, and he's not sure it came entirely from him. One of the penguins is in a awful shirt that has at least five conflicting colors and the other penguin is in sunglasses. Number one has a martini on his free hand and number two is _waving_. Even Arthur has to admit it's pretty adorable. He knows what Eames is gonna answer before he does it.

"I'd go for it. Maybe not on the ass, but fine, I won't complain."

"...I'm getting a bunch of dicks tattooed then. Try me." At Eames' look of ' _must_ you' Arthur just shrugs. "What? Crude but effective."

"How do you plan to explain that to the tattoo artist? Like, try saying it out loud, with a serious face. I'd like a few penises tattooed on my ass please. How much will that cost, sir?"

Arthur wants to laugh at the idea alone. God, this whole thing is stupid.

But everything about this still feels weird, feels wrong in a way he can't quite explain. Half of the things he's saying could have come from Eames, Eames doesn't have a 'must you' look, _Arthur_ does. Arthur blinks hard and looks at his hand but it's still Eames' hand, Eames body, the somnacin- He's getting somewhere, the idea is close, but everything feels fuzzy.

"Eames!" Ariadne says, but she reaches for him, and, oh, he felt dizzy and steadied himself on the table behind him. During a dream shared with the PASSIV your mind is tangled with someone else's in an intrinsic and intimate way that _requires_ the right separation process and Arthur was sharing a dream with Eames.

He puts down the cup. The new formula for somnacin that they were testing seemed to have run pretty smooth, but- He blinks. Looks at the hand. He's still in Eames body. That's still Eames hand. But maybe it affected the way they are perceiving reality now, after the dream. It shouldn't last long, they took lower dosages and tried it in a controlled environment as part of the testing stage and that means they are relatively safe, it should be over any moment- blinks. He's on another plane of existence altogether. He can see as if overlaid from two pair of eyes, two right hands, moving in place, fuzzy around the edges. Blinks. Eames hand. Blinks. He's own. He keeps looking but that's definitely his arm, his chest, his pants. He blinks but everything's still there.

For a moment he laughs, almost hysterically, relief making him light and giddy.

And then he composes himself, and he's off.

"Yusuf, _what the hell_. What the fuck did you give us? ‘The compound needs severe adjustments’ is an understatement. Eames, are you okay?"

Eames nods, still pulling himself together too. Arthur keeps looking for a second longer, just to be sure. "I didn't feel any pain, but we should be monitored for the next couple of hours, and be on the lookout for everlasting effects. We need to guarantee we don't have more surprises coming that could endanger our wellbeing. We won't be testing the somnacin again until you can be _absolutely sure_ it is safe for consumption, and on the meantime we stick to the original formula."

There is a pregnant pause.

Ariadne is the one that starts, hesitatingly,

"Wait, you-"

She looks around, ready for the punchline to the prank. When nothing comes she just sounds incredulous. "You mean you _actually switched bodies_?"

Yeah. Arthur doesn't have a clue either.

"Okay, _now_ you have to admit that was pretty amazing." Eames says, smiling.

Maybe a little. But Arthur says, "I'll admit nothing," just to be contrary.

Eames is still thinking about it and he blurts out, pretty much out of nowhere. "I can't _believe_ I've missed the chance to see you naked, that's just ridiculous."

Arthur stares at him for a full ten seconds.

How is this guy even real.

"You _have_ seen me naked. Multiple times."

"That's different, darling. Keep up. I'd be getting the whole first person experience, it'd be something else entirely. Can't believe I didn’t do it."

Arthur is not even gonna bother answering that.

Actually, no, he is. "Haven't you ever forged me, for the hell of it? You must have- no, you know what, I don't actually want to know." Eames is giving him a malicious grin. Arthur is truly not gonna mess with that. He thinks they're done but something else occurs to Eames.

"I missed the chance to have sex with myself! God, I always wanted to do that." Arthur bursts out laughing.

"That doesn't sound narcissistic at all."

"Please, tell me you never thought about it. You do it when _you_ have the chance."

"Have sex with myself?"

"Have sex with me."

Again, Arthur really doesn't have an answer for that. But he's pretty sure he's smiling.

"I wouldn't be game with it anyway. Sex on the different bodies. It'd be too weird for me to be looking at myself, I wouldn't get into the mood."

"Well, damn. There's that idea spoiled. Only in my dreams."

That reminds Eames of something and he pulls out the dice that was still with him. He throws. "Catch." Arthur does. He puts it away and looks around. Yusuf is hunched over his notes, Ariadne quickly turns back to her table. Pretending to give them privacy. Arthur appreciates it, to be honest. He leans back against the table for a moment and notices that Eames is slowly sketching something on a napkin.

"What is it?" Arthur asks softly.

"The penguins. They're chill, I like them."

Arthur is definitely smiling this time.

"Yeah?"

"It's not the kind of thing I draw, but. I don't know. I grew kind of found of them."

"I was trying to piss you off."

"But still. They were holding hands." Eames brings up an excellent point.

"That's just cute." Arthur agrees.

"Right?"

"...I don't think they have hands." Is Yusuf's helpful commentary to their conversation.

"And yet that doesn't stop them. True love conquers all." Eames says, grinning, and somewhere in Arthur's mind that is not a hundred percent his yet, he hears, 'I was obviously joking but now I'm getting the tattoo just to prove you _wrong_ ' in Eames most petty voice, and he bursts out laughing.

**Author's Note:**

> can you belieb I actually wrote a bodyswap fic lol
> 
>  
> 
> me: trying to sleep at 3am
> 
> my brain: arthur and eames as gay penguins in love
> 
> me: no.
> 
> my brain: they'll be penguins and they'll be in love
> 
> me: 
> 
> my brain: arthur will be the stuck-up guy trying to follow the strict family traditions and eames will blow his mind and snatch him away to a life of passion and adventures
> 
> me:
> 
> my brain: penguins of madagascar style
> 
> me: i'm 100% not writing that. shut the fuck up.
> 
> my brain: :(
> 
> me: I- I can include a shout out in another fic?
> 
> my brain: :)
> 
>  
> 
> You can follow my inception blog at [dreaminghigher](http://www.dreaminghigher.tumblr.com)


End file.
